Med professor sentenced to probation for distributing ‘vaccine card’

A medical school professor who was put on trial for distributing a so-called ‘vaccine card,’ which was said to be 100% effective in treating and preventing COVID-19, was sentenced to probation by the court. The professor argued that it was not a medical device, which was not accepted by the court.

According to the legal community on Monday, Judge Kim Taek-hyung of the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Professor Kim (67) of Yonsei University Wonju Campus, who was indicted on charges of violating the Medical Device Act, to eight months in prison and two years of probation.

Professor Kim was indicted on charges of creating a so-called “vaccine card,” a card-type medical device, from November 2020 to April 2022 at the hike of the pandemic, distributing the card to an unspecified number of people and advertising its efficacy. Despite not being approved or certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Professor Kim claimed that it effectively prevented COVID-19, providing the card as a giveaway to the book he wrote.

During the trial, Professor Kim claimed that he had never violated the Medical Device Act, as vaccine cards are not medical devices. However, the court decided that the vaccine card was viewed as a medical device as defined by the Medical Device Act, based on the wording on the card and the contents of Professor Kim's patent claim. In 2010, Professor Kim sold manufacturing facilities for ‘Water of Life,’ which he invented, claiming immunity-boosting effects and curing diseases such as cancer. He was indicted for violating the Fraud and Medical Device Act and fined 20 million won.

The court called for the need for severe punishment due to Kim causing harm to public health, adding that it was questionable whether he was repenting for his doings even though he was previously punished for the same crime.


최미송 기자 cms@donga.com